Coral Immunity

Corals and other invertebrates must be able to defend themselves against infection, predation, competition and abiotic stressors to maintain homeostasis. Much advancement has been made on the elucidation of pathways and phenotypes involved in both resistance to, and active response to infection in corals and other reef inhabitants. We are interested in immunorecognition, signaling pathways, effector responses as well as putting immunity in the context of organismal studies, such as life-history tradeoffs and effects of the environment on immunity. See our page dedicated to Cnidarian Immunity for more information.

Specific Projects

Effects of temperature on coral immunityThe Caribbean has suffered from two unprecedented bleaching events, one in 2005 and one in 2010. We have worked on these naturally bleached corals to assess the effects of bleaching and oxidative stress on coral immunity and disease outbreaks. We have also experimentally stressed corals with temperature and pathogens recognition molecules and found supression of immunity. Coral immunity and life history - why do corals differ in disease susceptibility? We are looking at how immunocompetence varies between species with different morphology, growth rates, reproduction and susceptibility to disease and bleaching.

Symbiodinium recognition and coral immunityCorals rely on a symbiotic relationship with an immotile dinoflagellate known as Symbiodinium. Using Symbiodinium cultures we are comparing the response of several types of Symbiodinium to temperature and pathogen stress. We are measuring growth rates, production and release of reactive oxygen and antioxidants as well as proteomics to look at responses. Check this space for more informationsoon!